With only nine days to the FCT Area Council Election, the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC says it has concluded major activities and is now putting finishing touches to preparations for the poll holding on Saturday 12th September 2022.
Chairman of the commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu made this known at a stakeholders’ meeting on the 2022 area council elections organized by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), in Abuja.
Yankubu explained that for voter accreditation, the Commission has reviewed the performance of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and considered lessons learnt from previous election in planning for the Area Council elections.
According to him, “the BVAS have been configured and ready to deploy for the election. We have also made adequate arrangements for technical support and transportation to speedily respond in the unlikely event of glitches on Election Day. Similarly, election results will be uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing portal (IReV) in real-time when voting ends and votes are counted at polling units on Election Day”.
The Chairman also gave update on other areas including the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs), staff training, non-sensitive materials which he noted have been deployed to the various Area Councils and the procurement of Non-pharmaceutical to protect voters and personnel from COVID-19.
Reiterating the importance of peace to the successful conduct of the Area Council elections, the INEC boss urged staff, candidates and their supporters to strictly abide by the rules to protect the integrity of the process for a free, fair and peaceful contest.
He charged all stakeholders to Let the 2022 Area Council election be the beacon for a peaceful and credible 2023 General Election, adding that no one will benefit from the disruption of the process or other acts of bad bahaviour.
Yakubu however expressed the commission’s satisfaction at the behaviour of parties and candidates in the FCT, noting that so far, there has been no adverse reports of clashes between supporters of different parties or many incidents of hate and inciting speeches as they canvass for votes.
He commended the stakeholders for their advocacy for peaceful elections and appealed to political parties as well as candidates to continue to show maturity and decorum as campaigns come to a close and Election Day draws nearer.
Meanwhile, in the area of litigations, the Chief electoral Umpire revealed that there are eight cases in court challenging the nomination or educational qualification of candidates in 2022 FCT Area Council Election, he however averred that there are no conflicting judgments or orders by courts of coordinate jurisdiction anywhere on the forthcoming elections.
On his part, the FCT Minister, Muhammad Bello, commended INEC under the leadership of Professor Yakubu for the steady progress the electoral process has made and the technological innovations introduced to enhance the credibility of election.
He consequently assured that his administration and other stakeholders in the FCT would work with the Commission to ensure that the Area Council Election serve as a model for 2023 general election.
The meeting was well attended by
The Minister, Federal Capital Territory,
Members of the National Assembly,
Chairmen and Councillors of the Area Councils, National Commissioners of INEC, Heads of Security Agencies and Traditional Rulers
